Hammerschmidt is the revolutionary new transmission technology from the clever chaps at SRAM, and I’m predicting it to be one of the biggest leap forwards in bike tech in the last 5 years! A hefty claim, yes, but this is one sweet piece of kit.
I could sit here and type a heap of technical mumbo jumbo about pawl this, and cog that, but I think nothing explains it better than a few videos and as bike legend Greg Herbold will tell you, “Hammerschmidt will change the way you ride your bike… it’s pretty awesome”.
Check out more videos on the Hammerschmidt site www.magicmechanics.com.
So, advantages over the standard Chainset/Front Mech combo:
- More ground clearance
- Consistent chain-line
- Infinite ratios
- Shifting under load
- Shifting whilst standing still or coasting
- Shifting whilst airing a 40ft drop (just because you can!)
- Strength/Impact Resistant
- Built in chain guard
- Freakish looks
Disadvantages:
- A little more weight (but its aimed at All-mountain riders)
- Lots of moving parts in that little box
- A perfectly faced Bottom Bracket is essential
- Gives your credit card a bad fright
So expect this thing to appear on a lot of bikes over the next year. Just like the QR on front forks, we may see the disappearance of another long-standing bike part, the front mech.
